ENERGIZED DEE RIGHT MAN AT RIGHT TIME TO LEAD THE PADRES

It wasn’t long ago, but it seems like generations since the Padres had so much on the baseball. Larry Lucchino, the genius, was in charge of a young think tank, with the likes of Charles Steinberg, Theo Epstein and Mike Dee soaking in it every day.

Damn, they were smart. I always said Lucchino, then way out front, was too big for this town, and it proved out when then-owner John Moores (who often correctly called Lucchino the smartest man in baseball) served him the big chicken dinner. So Larry went to Boston and exorcised all the old ghosts and demons of Fenway. Dee followed him to Boston and became COO. So did Epstein, the kid, who became GM and now runs the Cubs. Steinberg, a great thinker and master marketeer, is there now working his magic.

Dee, probably with a promise that player payroll will increase (possibly to about $85 million, from what I hear), has returned to where he was from 1995-2002 — this time as boss, president and CEO of the Padres, after a stint running the NFL’s Dolphins. He replaced Tom Garfinkel, who after his canning here coincidentally has replaced Dee as Miami’s chief.

Dee is a good guy. Laughs a lot. His motor never shuts off. And my guess is that if anyone can help turn this franchise into a more fan-friendly winner, it’s Dee. He hasn’t grown dumber since he left town.

“Mike is a multi-talented guy,” Lucchino said. “He has the heart of a fan and that’s important. He has good instincts. And he’s familiar with the land in San Diego. He’ll make sure everybody in the organization is playing their position. And he’s indefatigable, on a planet where they don’t sleep much.”

Just what the Padres need right now.

“The most important thing to me is consistency,” Dee said. “Look at the franchises that are successful, regardless of their market size. They’re committed to a philosophy. Stability. Consistency develops a culture. Stops and starts are hard to overcome. Here we have a fan base that has become disinterested. We have to work on that off the field.

“On the field, our philosophy is right. This is a group that not only wants to win, but wants to win championships. I wouldn’t have come back if I didn’t kick the tires hard.”

For years we’ve heard that San Diego is a small market, but Oakland, Tampa Bay and even Pittsburgh don’t seem to be having problems. Dee finds all of that nothing but bull.

“Market size is a big issue here,” he said. “I don’t view it as a small market. We were a small market in 1998. This market is what you make of it.

“We’re going to market our players. There has been an unbelievable lack of connecting players to fans. I’ve been meeting with fans. I understand there’s a fair amount of angst. We’ve got to build a model that’s smart with scouting and attracting international players.”

Moores threw millions into a Dominican Republic facility. What has come out of it? Zilch.

“The results are inconclusive, at best,” Dee said.

But more money spent on players — not Dodgers money — wouldn’t hurt. I have it on good authority that the Padres’ player salary budget, now around $65 million, could be at least $20 million higher next year. All team Chairman Ron Fowler says is: “It’s going to be a fun offseason.”

“There’s a big difference between here and Boston. In Boston, you could make a big mistake and eat the money,” Dee said. “You have to be smart. You can’t take a $59 million haircut here without it being serious.

“We’re going to have the payroll flexibility because we have ownership that wants to win.”

Despite another 76-86 finish, I like the future of these Padres. Their young pitching staff has a chance to be one of the best in the game. Their infield appears somewhat set. The minor leaguers sent up have impressed. But they still need a consistent bat. I don’t know if Carlos Quentin is that bat, but they need people to hit with runners in scoring position. This is a non-power ballclub that has striking-out disease. These bats need more discipline.

“It’s going to require more investment at the major and minor league levels,” Dee said. “We believe we have a team that’s competitive, but not anything to plan a parade around. We have the nucleus, a young pitching staff that will have success in this ballpark. There are bursts of offense, but we haven’t put together 18 holes yet.

“Your readers will say, ‘Put a better team on the field, and we will come.’ We’ll draw (close to) 2.5 million this year, but we’ve got to get to 3 million. We have to draw 100,000 every weekend.”

Mike Dee has no hair on his head. But he doesn’t wear a hat he can talk through.